Flat wall panel at least substantially made of cellulose material

ABSTRACT

A flat wall panel at least substantially made of cellulose material, a special feature being the fact that the wall panel is at least substantially made of layers of paper/cardboard, each layer at least substantially being made up of a corrugated sublayer and a flat sublayer provided on one side thereof, which layers of paper/cardboard are interconnected via an adhesive applied to the corrugations of the corrugated sublayers, wherein the wall panel is impregnated, in particular with a resinous material, and wherein at least one strengthening layer which is stiffer (i.e. less deformable) than the layers of paper/cardboard is provided, which strengthening layer is connected to a layer of paper/cardboard on one side of the wall panel via an adhesive.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to the Netherlands Patent ApplicationNo. NL 1024506 entitled FLAT WALL PANEL AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY MADE OFCELLULOSE MATERIAL, by Snel, filed 10 Oct., 2003, incorporated herein byreference.

TECHICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a flat wall panel at leastsubstantially made of cellulose material. The invention also relates toa method for manufacturing said wall panel.

BACKGROUND

Such a wall panel is known from German patent No. 2 026 768. Said patentdescribes a building that is built up of a great many differentconstruction elements, such as a concrete floor, roof and side wallpanels made of an intermediate layer of corrugated cardboard sandwichedbetween two flat outer layers, as well as cramps and corner elements. Inpractice, the constructional strength of the roof and side wall panelsappears to be insufficient to give the building sufficient strength.

The object of the invention is to improve the wall panel that is knownfrom the aforesaid German patent publication, in the sense that a wallpanel having an optimum constructional stiffness is provided for use asa construction element of a building, as a wall panel in, for example, aseparation wall, etc. It is noted that the term wall panel is understoodto include an element for use in a wall, a floor, a ceiling, a roof,etc.

According to the invention, a wall panel of the kind referred to in theintroduction is characterized in that the wall panel is at leastsubstantially made of layers of paper/cardboard, each layer at leastsubstantially being made up of a corrugated sublayer and a flat sublayerprovided on one side thereof, which layers of paper/cardboard areinterconnected via an adhesive applied to the corrugations of thecorrugated sublayers, wherein the wall panel is impregnated, inparticular with a resinous material, and wherein at least onestrengthening layer which is stiffer (i.e. less deformable) than thelayers of paper/cardboard is provided, which strengthening layer isconnected to a layer of paper/cardboard on one side of the wall panelvia an adhesive.

In other words, the sum of a number of adhered-together layers ofpaper/cardboard are connected on at least one flat (outer) side thereofto the stiffer (i.e. less deformable) strengthening layer. Experimentshave shown that the present construction leads to an unexpectedly greatconstructional stiffness of the wall panel, so that it is possible tosubject the wall panel to large forces without the dimensional stabilitybeing affected.

In a preferred embodiment of a wall panel according to the invention,the wall panel comprises two strengthening layers, which are connectedto a layer of paper/cardboard on either side of the wall panel via anadhesive. Thus a sandwich construction is obtained, in which the wholeof various adhered-together layers of paper/cardboard are connected to astiffer (i.e. less deformable) strengthening layer on both flat outersides. The result is an even greater constructional stiffness having acorresponding dimensional stability.

It is noted that impregnating the wall panel with, for example, aresinous material not only has the advantage of providing a greaterconstructional stiffness, but also of providing protection againstexternal influences, such as moisture. As a result of said additionalstiffness, fewer layers of corrugated paper/cardboard are in principleneeded in order to give the flat panel the required stiffness. Saidimpregnation preferably takes place by means of vapour deposition,spraying or otherwise, said vapour deposition or spraying taking placein a direction parallel to the direction of the “cell structure” of thecorrugated paper/cardboard that is used. Said impregnation may also beeffected with mechanical means, wherein toothed and/or flat rollers areused for pressing the impregnating medium into the paper/cardboard.

In a preferred embodiment of a wall panel according to the invention,the strengthening layer is made of wood, preferably multiply wood, inparticular three-ply wood.

In another preferred embodiment of a wall panel according to theinvention, the wall panel is at least substantially made of an evennumber of layers of paper/cardboard. In combination with thestrengthening layer, this provides a planar material which is hardlydeformable, if at all. Preferably, the wall panel is mirror symmetricalwith respect to a central longitudinal plane of the wall panel so as toincrease the dimensional stability thereof, so that “warping” isprevented at all times.

The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a wall panelaccording to the specifications of the invention, wherein the wall panelis at least substantially made of layers of paper/cardboard, each layerat least substantially being made up of a corrugated sublayer and a flatsublayer provided on one side thereof, which layers of paper/cardboardare interconnected via an adhesive applied to the corrugations of thecorrugated sublayers, wherein the wall panel is impregnated, inparticular with a resinous material, and wherein at least onestrengthening layer which is stiffer (i.e. less deformable) than thelayers of paper/cardboard is provided, which strengthening layer isconnected to a layer of paper/cardboard on one side of the wall panelvia an adhesive.

It is noted that the term paper is usually used for lighter types ofpaper; in the case of a heavier quality, the term cardboard isfrequently used. Within the framework of the invention, the terms paper,cardboard and weight are not intended to be limitations as regards thetype of material to be used.

The aforesaid resinous material with which the wall panel according tothe invention is impregnated, is preferably an epoxy resin, apolyurethane resin, a polyester resin or a phenol resin. Fire-resistantand/or fire-retarding agents may be added thereto. Preferably, theresinous material with which the wall panel according to the inventionis impregnated also functions as an adhesive for adhering two layers ofpaper/cardboard together, so that a separate adhesive, such as a glue,is not required. To that end, sets consisting of a corrugated sublayerand a flat sublayer adhered to one side thereof, which sublayers arealready impregnated with the resinous material, can be placed on top ofeach other so as to be adhered together (after the resinous material hasdried).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference tofigures illustrating a preferred variant of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic, perspective view of the present wall panel.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic, detail view of the wall panel in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic, exploded view of the wall panel in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 show a flat wall panel 1 according to the invention in theform of a “sandwich”, in the sense that a core 2 built up of severallayers of corrugated cardboard is connected on either side to a stifferstrengthening layer 3 of multiply wood, in particular three-ply wood.

In this case, four layers of corrugated cardboard are depicted, whichare each built up of corrugated sublayer 4 and a flat sublayer 5 adheredto one side thereof, using an adherant applied to the corrugations 6 ofthe corrugated sublayer 4. The core 2 is impregnated with a resinousmaterial. The strengthening layers 3 are glued to both sides of the core2.

The wall panel 1 is mirror symmetrical with respect to a centrallongitudinal plane 7 of the wall panel 1.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to the embodiment as shownin the figures, but that it also extends to other variants that fallwithin the scope of the appended claims. Thus it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the wall panel may exhibit a (slight)curvature, whilst the wall panel may also comprise a curved longitudinaledge.

1. A wall panel comprising: at least one layer including a corrugatedsublayer and a flat sub layer wherein the flat sublayer is connectedwith the corrugated sublayer; and a strengthening layer adhesivelyconnected to the layer, wherein the wall panel is impregnated withresinous material.
 2. A wall panel according to claim 1, wherein thewall panel is comprised of two or more layers and wherein the corrugatedsublayer(s) and the flat sub layer(s) are composed of paper, cardboardor other material containing a high cellulose content.
 3. A wall panelaccording to claim 2, wherein a second strengthening layer is adhesivelyconnected to the paper/cardboard layer thereby sandwiching thepaper/cardboard layer between the two strengthening layers.
 4. A wallpanel according to claim 2, wherein the said strengthening layer is madeof wood.
 5. A wall panel according to claim 3, wherein the saidstrengthening layers are made of wood.
 6. A wall panel according toclaim 2, wherein the said strengthening layer is made of multiply,preferably three-ply wood.
 7. A wall panel according to claim 3, whereinthe said strengthening layers are made of multiply, preferably three-plywood.
 8. A wall panel according to claim 2, wherein the wall panelcomprises an even number of layers.
 9. A wall panel according to claim3, wherein the wall panel comprises an even number of layers.
 10. A wallpanel according to claim 4, wherein the wall panel comprises an evennumber of layers.
 11. A wall panel according to claim 5, wherein thewall panel comprises an even number of layers.
 12. A wall panelaccording to claim 6, wherein the wall panel comprises an even number oflayers.
 13. A wall panel according to claim 7, wherein the wall panelcomprises an even number of layers.
 14. A wall panel according to claim8, wherein the wall panel is mirror symmetrical with respect to acentral longitudinal plane of the wall panel.
 15. A wall panel accordingto claim 9, wherein the wall panel is mirror symmetrical with respect toa central longitudinal plane of the wall panel.
 16. A wall panelaccording to claim 10, wherein the wall panel is mirror symmetrical withrespect to a central longitudinal plane of the wall panel.
 17. A wallpanel according to claim 11, wherein the wall panel is mirrorsymmetrical with respect to a central longitudinal plane of the wallpanel.
 18. A wall panel according to claim 12, wherein the wall panel ismirror symmetrical with respect to a central longitudinal plane of thewall panel.
 19. A wall panel according to claim 13, wherein the wallpanel is mirror symmetrical with respect to a central longitudinal planeof the wall panel.
 20. A method for manufacuring the wall panelcomprising: interconnecting layers including a corrugatedpaper/cardboard sublayer and a flat paper/cardboard sublayer, whereinthe layers are interconnected via adhesive applied to the corrugationsof the corrugated sublayers, connecting at least one strengthening layerto the paper/cardboard layer via an adhesive, the strengthening layerbeing less deformable than the paper/cardboard layers, wherein the wallis impregnated with a resinous material.